After another brutal loss, Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels made the controversial decision to bench Derek Carr for their final two remaining games of the 2022 season.
Jarrett Stidham will get the start against the San Francisco 49ers, with Chase Garbers acting as his backup. Meanwhile, Carr agreed to step away from the team in order to avoid any distractions down the stretch.
Carr threw three interceptions in the defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and while that’s certainly enough to be criticized for, it’s still surprising to see McDaniels bench him. The announcement signals that Carr’s time with the Silver and Black could be running out, which would send ripple effects down the rest of the roster.
The player most impacted by Carr’s benching is Davante Adams, who is best friends with the quarterback. Adams made sure to publicly back Carr when asked about the situation via Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
“I’m not going to sit here and go on and on, but obviously I support my guy ,” a subdued Adams said, via video from Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We’ve got to finish this season out the best way we can possible with all things considered at this point. Anything else that you guys got, you can leave that for coach or for Derek.”
Adams also reiterated that he would not have to Las Vegas were it not for Carr via Mark Anderson of AP:
“I don’t think anybody was excited about it in here,” Adams said of Carr’s benching. “I wouldn’t be here right now if he wasn’t here. I think everybody knows how I feel about him. … Obviously, I support my guy.”
The star receiver gave up a long-term offer from the Green Bay Packers in order to come back to the West Coast and reunite with his Fresno State teammate in Carr. The two have always wanted to team up in the NFL together, but it seems like this year may be the only time the duo gets to enjoy it.
At 6-9, the Raiders are all but eliminated from the postseason and now must figure out how to build out the roster in a way that can win more games. It seems like the organization has reached its decision on Carr’s future with them, but now they must begin to wonder if they’ll eventually need to start looking for Adams’ replacement as well should he want out.
